Santa Hat Brownies

Last night was our 5th annual 'Uni friends' Christmas Party where it is tradition to bring along your very best culinary efforts for all to share. I whipped up a batch of these super simple Santa Hat Brownies (via Daisy's World). Very quick and easy to make and perfectly festive - I foresee at least two more batches needing to be made before the season is through!

We had the traditional french onion soup, complete with grated cheese and croutons, pigs in blankets, a vast selection of cheese and crackers, mulled wine, and an extremely yummy Nutella cheesecake made by Lucy. I'm so about the Christmas treats right now!

I've also got my hands on some reusable fabric Christmas wrap from Evergreen Wrap. The patterns are super cute, and the website is full of tutorials on how to wrap different shaped objects. It's faster and greener than wrapping paper, and you can even turn it into a bag once you're done! Win-Win!

Need a little Christmas

After 20 odd years of leaving Christmas until the last minute, I've finally cracked it over the last couple of years! I'm really nearly ready, although not completely, so I probably shouldn't start with the celebrations just yet. I have 2 more gifts left to get, wrapping to do and stockings to finish making. Then I'm done...!

The Christmas cards I designed came back from the printers looking lovely. Now I just need to get them written... thats another job for the list then...!




We've also got the decorations up, having spent a fortune in M&S, whose christmas range is pretty ace this year. I'm also very happy to bang out the knitted letter and wooden snowflake decorations I picked up in Target whilst in Florida.





The tree and ten ton of fairy lights makes the living room super cosy, helped along by christmas music - I am loving the she & him christmas album, and the Slow Club Christmas EP too. I'm still making my mind up on Smith & Burrows' Funny Looking Angels,, but am rather disappointed by Emmy the Great's offering with Tim Wheeler... odd. Very odd. Anyhoo, must press on. Christmas doesn't do itself...!

Oreo Cookie Cupcakes

Today was spent baking Oreo Cupcakes from Bakerella's Cookies and cream cupcake recipe. Each cupcake has a whole oreo inside! And the cookies and cream icing is delicious!

The recipe siad it would make 12 cupcakes, but i somehow ended up with 24 and still had mix left over... i'm not sure how that happened unless american cupcake cases are dramatically smaller than UK ones...! But particularly in situations involving cake: the more the merrier, and I'm sure no one will complain!

remembering...

With us packing so much in to such a short space of time, and it being such a great trip, I made a little something to remind me of all the small, and big things we did, and some of the things that made us laugh so much.

Will you call on me when you're living on the sea?

Florida: Part Four
Now, I'm always a fan of a good boat trip on holiday, and I'm also a fan of the fact that we managed to fit in not one, but 2 boat trips whilst in Florida.

The first was an airboat ride through the mangroves in the everglades: a perfect morning after the wedding cure! The tour guides were great: ex fishermen who knew the winding paths through the mangroves like the backs of their hands. They put on a bit of a show for us trying to track the alligators down, and raced the tow boats alongside each other! We didnt really get much of a glimpse of an alligator but we did get to see a pelican who landed on the front of our boat before we had even left the dock, and a rather friendly, but reputedly vicious racoon...!

On the way back to the dock we spotted Grimms Stonecrab, a little crab shack where we stopped to munch on some fresher-than-fresh stonecrab claws. Yummers!






The second boat trip was in a speed boat out from Naples and into the Gulf of Mexico, where we each took turns to drive it ourselves (very scary!) saw dolphins, moored up at a secluded beach, and later a private island, drank beer, and watched some wake boarding. pretty much paradise!

Where the Alligators go

Florida: Part 3
Whilst in Naples we visited the swamps at the Corkscrew Swam Sanctuary. We walked along 2.5 miles of raised boardwalk through the giant cypress trees with the main aim of spotting a real life Florida 'gator.

With only a few steps left to go we managed to spot not only two little baby 'gators, but also two giant fully grown 12ft 'gators sleeping on a log emerging from the swamp. Not quite close enough to get a particularly good photo, but close enough to be able to tick it off the list!

Whilst walking, we also saw some woodpeckers, tons of spiders, a squirrel, some wood storks and some herons: All of whom, along with the various fish and insects living in the swamps eat the mosquitos, meaning no need for bug spray! Bonus!

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

Florida: Part Two
The main event was held on Friday 4th November on a beautiful beach, and later a beautiful hotel with a beautiful fountain, beautiful music, and of course a beautiful bride.

The sunshine came out just as Jimbo and Alissa took their first steps down the aisle, right on cue!

The table settings were very pretty indeed, and the order of service, menu, table settings (as well as the invitation) were immaculately designed by the very talented groom. A very lovely day for a lovely couple!

The Day We Caught the Plane...

Florida: Part One
So yes, we caught a plane. 12 of us headed across the atlantic ocean to see one of our very best friends, Jimbo, marry his beautiful now wife, Alissa in sunny Naples, Florida.

Some of us were only there for 6 days, but we certainly made a jolly old time of it watching flying fish, visiting private islands, eating mexican food, cooked by mexicans, drinking beer, buying novelty cereal and plenty of american chocolate (I could turn into a milk dud any second...), and a pretty ace amount of boating and swamping - more on that later though... and generally enjoying the November sunshine!








We've been back almost 2 weeks already (time flies) but I'm still very much enjoying reliving a great time away with even greater friends through the hundreds of photos we have amassed! And there will be more to come here. I can assure you of that!